After Weekend of Riots, Night Curfews Imposed in Paris and Other French Cities

French authorities have imposed overnight curfews in parts of central Paris and other cities after a weekend of riots and looting across the country. Paris police said a curfew would be in force between 23:00 local time and 06:00 in Place de la République, where protesters had gathered over the weekend, and in the Les Halles shopping area. A ban on unauthorised gatherings has also been imposed in several other parts of the city centre.

It is not Paris alone: partial curfews — variously restricting the movement of young people and gatherings — have been announced for Marseille, Bordeaux, Nice and Lyon in the south, as well as Lille and other towns in the north. Following a crisis meeting on Monday, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said local mayors were being given the power to implement curfews “where they need”, without specifying in which cities they would be enforced.

Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez, strongly criticised by opposition politicians over the preparedness for the disorder, admitted that police had “lost control” in some cities. He attempted to resign on Sunday, but President Emmanuel Macron refused, “given the need for continued command of law enforcement”, the Élysée Palace said. The statement said Nuñez should be transparent over what Macron called “intelligence and foresight failings”.

The protests began last month with students demanding better school conditions, but they have since escalated to take in a broader range of concerns, with numbers at demonstrations this weekend bolstered by trade unions and various protest groups. Some 550,000 demonstrators took to the streets over the weekend in protests against rising fuel prices, the cost of living and deteriorating public services, including schools.

More than 2,500 people have been arrested, officials said, and about 1,000 police officers were injured. According to the AFP news agency, one demonstrator’s hand was blown off by a police crowd-control grenade. Groups of rioters, some dressed in black and wearing masks and balaclavas, were seen setting fire to cars and buildings and looting businesses in Paris, Marseille and other cities and smaller towns.

In the central city of Limoges, the ornate 19th-century city hall was gutted by a fire started by rioters on Saturday, its clock tower and roof collapsing as the flames took hold. Residents of the historic town expressed deep shock and anger over the burning of the town hall.

The damage is extensive. Alain Di Crescenzo, head of France’s Chambers of Commerce and Industry (CCI), said more than 2,000 shops and other businesses were directly impacted by the weekend’s violence, with damage estimated at “hundreds of millions of euros”. Jean-Luc Chauvin, president of the CCI’s Marseille branch, said many of the city’s shop owners were in “deep distress” and fear for their survival.

Meanwhile, looted goods have been listed on certain selling platforms, two French government ministers said. A Vinted spokesperson said the sale or solicitation of stolen goods was “strictly prohibited”, adding that since the weekend its teams had taken immediate action to identify and remove listings linked to the looting and had stepped up monitoring of suspicious listings.

Prime Minister Lecornu did not rule out imposing a state of emergency in the country. He said the government would set aside money to help affected areas recover from the damage, but that the funding would be recovered from those behind the violence. “There will be a law that will be put in place to find ways of making sure that those who have damaged properties will have to pay,” he said. He also announced a partial unemployment fund for those who could not work as a result of the riots and looting.

Nuñez said 200 investigators were analysing CCTV footage to try to identify possible ringleaders. Foreign nationals have also been warned: the US Embassy in France has issued an alert advising its citizens to avoid areas affected by the demonstrations and to “exercise caution” near large gatherings; China and Germany have issued similar warnings.

The political row is intense. Lecornu alleged in an earlier news conference that some groups “want to create chaos in our country up until the presidential elections”. Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of the left-wing La France Insoumise party, who will stand in next year’s presidential election, responded by calling on the prime minister to “prove his accusation” or “apologise, shut up, and stop stoking disorder”. All eyes are now on whether the curfews and tough measures calm the situation.